Homily 69 — John 12, verses 42 to 50

“Nevertheless, even among the chief rulers many believed in him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” [a]

We must avoid all the passions that corrupt the soul, but most of all those that by themselves give birth to many sins. I mean passions such as the love of money. This is a dreadful disease in itself, but it becomes far more serious because it is the root and mother of all evils. Empty glory is another of the same kind. See, for example, how these men were broken off from the faith through their love of honor. “Many even of the chief rulers,” it says, “believed in him, but because of the Jews they did not confess him, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.” As he had also said to them before, “How can you believe, when you receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (John 5, verse 44). So they were not rulers at all, but slaves in the worst kind of slavery. This fear, however, was removed later on. Nowhere in the time of the apostles do we find them in the grip of this feeling, since in their time both rulers and priests believed. The grace of the Spirit came and made them all firmer than diamond. Since, then, this was what kept them from believing at this time, listen to what he says.

Verse 44: “He who believes in me does not believe in me, but in him who sent me.” It is as though he had said, “Why are you afraid to believe in me? Faith passes through me to the Father, and so does unbelief.” See how in every way he shows that his being is in no way different from the Father’s. He did not say, “He who believes me,” in case anyone should claim that he was speaking about his words. That could have been said in the case of mere men, for the one who believes the apostles believes not them, but God. But so that you would learn that here he is speaking of faith in his very being, he did not say, “He who believes my words,” but, “He who believes in me.” “And why,” someone says, “did he never say it the other way around: ‘He who believes in the Father does not believe in the Father, but in me’?” Because they would have answered, “Look, we believe in the Father, but we do not believe in you.” Their state of mind was still too weak. Yet when he was talking with the disciples, he did speak this way: “You believe in the Father; believe also in me” (John 14, verse 1). But seeing that these men were then too weak to hear such words, he leads them another way, showing that it is not possible to believe in the Father without believing in him. And so that you would not think these words are spoken as by a man, he adds:

Verse 45: “He who sees me sees him who sent me.” What then? Is God a body? Not at all. The “seeing” he speaks of here is seeing with the mind, and by it he shows that he is of one being with the Father. And what does “He who believes in me” mean? It is as though someone were to say, “He who draws water from the river draws it not from the river, but from the spring.” Or rather, this image is too weak compared with the matter before us.

Verse 46: “I have come as a light into the world.” The Father is called by this name everywhere, in both the Old Testament and the New, so Christ too uses the same name. That is why Paul also calls him “Radiance” (Hebrews 1, verse 3), having learned to do so from this source. Here he also shows his close relationship with the Father, and that there is no separation between them, since he says that faith in him is not in him, but passes on to the Father. And he called himself “light” because he delivers from error and scatters the darkness of the mind.

Verse 47: “If anyone does not hear me, and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

He said, “I did not come to judge the world,” so that they would not think he passed over those who despised him because he lacked the power. Then, so that they would not grow more careless on this account, once they had learned that “he who believes is saved, and he who does not believe is punished,” see how he also sets before them a fearful court of judgment, by going on to say: [g]

Verse 48: “He who rejects me and does not receive my words has one who judges him.” “If the Father judges no one, and you have not come to judge the world, who judges him?” “The word that I have spoken will judge him.” Since they were saying, “He is not from God,” he says this, meaning: “Then they will not be able to say these things. The words I have spoken now will take the place of an accuser, convicting them and cutting off every excuse.” “The word that I have spoken.” What kind of word?

Verse 49: “For I have not spoken on my own; but the Father who sent me gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” And other words like these. Surely these things were said for their sake, so that they would have no excuse left to plead. For if this were not so, what more will he have than Isaiah? He too says the very same thing: “The Lord God gives me the tongue of the learned, so that I may know when I ought to speak a word” (Isaiah 50, verse 4, in the Greek Old Testament). What more than Jeremiah? He too was inspired when he was sent (Jeremiah 1, verse 9). What more, then, than Ezekiel? He too spoke as he did after eating the scroll (Ezekiel 3, verse 1). Besides, those who were about to hear what he said would turn out to be the cause of his knowing it. For if he received the command about what to say only when he was sent, you will then argue that before he was sent he did not know. And what could be more impious than such claims — if, that is, one takes Christ’s words in this sense and does not understand why they are so lowly? Paul says that both he himself and those who had been made disciples knew “what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12, verse 2). And did the Son not know until he had received a command? How can that be reasonable? Do you not see that he carries his expressions to an extreme of humility, so that he may both win those men over and silence those who would come after? That is why he uses words that suit a mere man: so that even in this way he may force us to flee from the lowness of the sayings, since we know that the words do not belong to his nature, but are fitted to the weakness of the hearers.

Verse 50: “And I know that his command is eternal life. So whatever I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.” Do you see how humble the words are? For one who has received a command is not his own master. Yet he says, “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will” (John 5, verse 21). Does he then have power to give life to whom he will, and not have power to say what he will? What he means by these words, then, is this: “It is not possible by nature that he should speak one set of words and I another.” “And I know that his command is eternal life.” He said this to those who called him a deceiver and claimed that he had come to do harm. But when he says, “I do not judge,” he shows that he is not the cause of these men’s destruction. By this, as he is about to leave them and be with them no longer, he all but openly declares: “I talk with you, speaking nothing on my own, but everything as from the Father.” And for this reason he kept his discourse to them within humble expressions, so that he might say, “Even to the end I spoke this, my last word, to them.” What word was that?

“As the Father told me, so I speak.” “If I had been opposed to God, I would have said the opposite: that I say nothing of what pleases God, so as to draw the honor to myself. But as it is, I have referred everything to him so completely that I call nothing my own. Why then do you not believe me when I say, ‘I have received a command,’ and when I work so hard to remove your wicked suspicion that I am his rival? For just as it is impossible for those who have received a command to do or say anything except what those who sent them wish, as long as they carry out the command and invent nothing of their own, so it is impossible for me to say or do anything except as my Father wills. For what I do, he does, because he is with me, and ‘the Father has not left me alone’” (John 8, verse 29). Do you see how everywhere he shows that he is joined to the one who begot him, and that there is no separation? For when he says, “I have not come on my own,” he does not say it to strip himself of power, but to take away every thought of estrangement or opposition. For if human beings are masters of themselves, how much more is the only Son! And to show that this is true, listen to what Paul says: “He emptied himself, and gave himself for us” (Philippians 2, verse 7, and Ephesians 5, verse 2). But, as I said, empty glory is a terrible thing, very terrible. This is what kept these men from believing, and led others to believe wrongly, so that the words spoken for those men’s sake, out of his love for humankind, they twisted into impiety.

So let us always flee this monster. It takes many and varied forms, and everywhere it spreads its own poison: in wealth, in luxury, in physical beauty. Through it we go beyond what we need at every turn; through it comes extravagance in clothing and a great swarm of household servants; through it what we need is despised everywhere — in our houses, our clothes, our table — and extravagance wins out.

Do you want to enjoy glory? Give alms. Then the angels will praise you; then God will receive you. As it is, the admiration goes no further than the goldsmiths and the weavers, and you leave without a crown — and often you even receive curses. But if you do not put these things on your body, and spend them on feeding the poor instead, the applause will be great on every side, and great the praise. You will have them when you give them to others; when you keep them to yourself, you do not have them. For a house is an untrustworthy treasury, but the hands of the poor are a safe one.

Why do you adorn your body while your soul is neglected and filled with filth? Why do you not give as much thought to your soul as to your body? You ought to give it more; but at the very least, beloved, we ought to give it equal care. Tell me: if someone asked you which you would choose — to have a body fresh, healthy and surpassingly beautiful and wear shabby clothes, or to have a body misshapen and full of diseases and wear gold and finery — wouldn’t you much rather have a beauty that belongs to your own person by nature than one that depends on the clothes you wear? Will you choose this for your body, then, and the opposite for your soul? When your soul is ugly, unsightly and black, do you think you gain anything from gold ornaments? What madness this is!

Move this adornment inside; put these necklaces around your soul. The things put around your body do nothing for its health or its beauty. They will not make what is black white, or what is ugly beautiful or good-looking. But if you put them around your soul, you will soon make it white instead of black, and instead of ugly and unsightly you will make it beautiful and lovely. These words are not mine, but those of the Lord himself, who says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow” (Isaiah 1, verse 18, in the Greek Old Testament), and, “Give alms, and everything will be clean for you” (Luke 11, verse 41).

By such a frame of mind you will make not only yourself beautiful, but your husband too. For if your husbands see you putting off these outward ornaments, they will have no great need of spending; and not having that need, they will keep clear of all greed and be more inclined to give alms. And you too will be able to give them fitting advice with confidence. As it is, you have lost all such authority. For with what mouth will you speak of these things? With what eyes will you look your husbands in the face when you ask them for money for alms, while you spend the most on covering your bodies? It is then that you will be able to speak boldly with your husband about almsgiving: when you lay aside your gold ornaments. Even if you accomplish nothing, you have done your whole part. But I should rather say that it is impossible for the wife not to win over her husband when she speaks through her very actions. “For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?” (First Corinthians 7, verse 16).

So then, just as now you will give an account both for yourself and for him, so if you put off all this empty show, you will have a double crown: you will wear your own crown and triumph with your husband through those pure and untainted ages, enjoying the eternal good things. May we all obtain them, through the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.